5 Baltimore rappers on the rise [Pictures]

Here's a question with no right answer: Why hasn't a Baltimore rapper broken through the city confines? There have been glimmers of hope. Caddy Da Don caught a quick flame last year with "Grindin' On Me," but his momentum slowed. Mullyman once had a video in MTV Jams' rotation, but couldn't...

Here's a question with no right answer: Why hasn't a Baltimore rapper broken through the city confines? There have been glimmers of hope. Caddy Da Don caught a quick flame last year with "Grindin' On Me," but his momentum slowed. Mullyman once had a video in MTV Jams' rotation, but couldn't... (Al Great, Dunson, Kane Mayfield and Jay Verze photographed by Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun Scarlett photographed by Gene Sweeney Jr., Baltimore Sun)

After Kane Mayfield, the Baltimore-via-Long Island MC, submitted five or six duds in a row to his label, Mania Music Group co-founder Dwayne Lawson proposed an idea. "He said, 'Why don't you rap over that Thievery Corporation [stuff]?'" Mayfield recalled. The off-the-cuff suggestion eventuall

After Kane Mayfield, the Baltimore-via-Long Island MC, submitted five or six duds in a row to his label, Mania Music Group co-founder Dwayne Lawson proposed an idea. "He said, 'Why don't you rap over that Thievery Corporation [stuff]?'" Mayfield recalled. The off-the-cuff suggestion eventuall (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun)

In most corners of the rap world, artists present themselves as either larger-than-life kingpins or 24-hour hustlers grinding their way from the bottom to the top. But like the rest of us, Alexander Epps, better known as Al Great, falls somewhere in the middle of those extremes. On his solid...

In most corners of the rap world, artists present themselves as either larger-than-life kingpins or 24-hour hustlers grinding their way from the bottom to the top. But like the rest of us, Alexander Epps, better known as Al Great, falls somewhere in the middle of those extremes. On his solid... (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun)

DOWNLOAD: Al Great, 'Summer Nights' (mixtape) Sounding like a smooth manifesto for Al's regular-guy persona, the rapper makes his priorities known on "Summer Nights": Paying bills on time, feeding his two kids and putting gas in the tank. (Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun)